It is known to store agricultural products such as silage and the like in the field in large plastic bags referred to as agricultural bags. Such bags are generally designed to be filled from one end and may have a diameter in excess of eight feet and a length of up to one hundred feet or more.
Machines have been developed to load silage and other agricultural products into such agricultural bags. A known conventional agricultural bag loading apparatus includes a housing with a rotating shaft mounted therein. The shaft has a plurality of teeth extending outwardly therefrom which are arranged in a helical pattern about and along the shaft. As the shaft rotates, the teeth force silage into an agricultural bag which has been secured adjacent to the loading apparatus. As silage is loaded into the bag, the loading apparatus moves away from the filled end of the bag in a controlled manner. A stripping basket mounted in the housing encompasses the shaft for stripping silage from the teeth mounted on the shaft.
Although known agricultural bag loading apparatus has performed adequately, difficulties encountered in the operation and maintenance of such apparatus indicate a need for still further improvements in the art. For example, it is sometimes necessary to gain access to or remove the shaft of an agricultural bag loading apparatus, for example, to facilitate bearing maintenance or repair and to facilitate the repair or replacement of broken teeth. When the shaft is positioned within the stripping basket as is the case in certain prior agricultural bag loading apparatus, access to the shaft cannot be obtained without considerable difficulty. Likewise, the helical tooth arrangement of the prior agricultural bag loading apparatus is believed to cause difficulty in feeding silage and similar materials in certain instances.